Hilary Mantel calls Duchess of Cambridge ‘plastic princess’

Award-winning British author Hilary Mantel has sparked outrage in the U.K. by labeling Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge a “plastic princess” and likening the royal to a “shop-window mannequin.”

During a lecture for the London Review of Books, the Booker Prize-winning novelist launched a scathing criticism of Prince William’s wife, branding her a “jointed doll on which certain rags are hung” with “no personality of her own” and insisting she appears to have been “designed by committee and built by craftsmen, with a perfect plastic smile.”

The comments hit headlines in the U.K. on Tuesday and prompted a furious response from British Prime Minister David Cameron, who branded Mantel’s remarks “misguided.”

Costa Book Of The Year Awards 2012 - Drinks Reception

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He says, “What I’ve seen of Princess Kate at public events, at the Olympics and elsewhere is this is someone who’s bright, who’s engaging, who’s a fantastic ambassador for Britain. We should be proud of that, rather than make these rather misguided remarks… (Mantel) writes great books… (but) what she’s said… is completely misguided.”

A number of celebrities have also waded into the debate, with TV newsman Piers Morgan calling Mantel’s review of the Duchess “painfully vile” in a post on Twitter, while Duran Duran star Simon Le Bon urges fans to read a transcript of the entire lecture, writing, “Hilary Mantel’s Royal Bodies lecture… It’s no assassination of Kate; rather a cold look at our attitude to Royalty.”

The lecture notes were released on the day of the pregnant royal’s first official public engagement of 2013, visiting a rehab center in London.